| “ | Seljuk returns to his homeland to find his ancestral pastures taken by hostile tribes. He vows revenge, beginning a generational transformation that will turn shepherds and horse tamers into conquerors and rulers of empires. | ” |
| —In-game scenario description | ||
Seljuk is one of the scenarios in the Victors and Vanquished campaign in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition - Victors and Vanquished. In this scenario, the player plays as the Tatars[note 1] and the player color is blue.
Intro[]
A cloud of brown dust settled over the flattened grass, the telltale trail of horse lords on the move.
Seljuk had returned.
The son of a chieftain of the Oghuz confederation, Seljuk left his tribe as a youth to fight in the wars of the Khazars. Now, he returned with a band of loyal warriors, vowing to take back his ancestral pasturelands stolen by rival tribesmen.
A battle like this one, so far from the 'civilized' world, may seem insignificant on the course of history. But such a skirmish would birth the rise of a great empire and a greater people.
Scenario instructions[]
Starting conditions[]
- Starting age:
Feudal Age - Starting resources: None
- Population limit: 100 (can be expanded later to 150)
- Starting units:
Objectives[]
- Seljuk must survive to found his dynasty.
- Destroy a Large Yurt to conquer an Oghuz tribe.
- Find Villagers on the steppe.
- Dismantle the Ox Wagon to construct a Yurt.
- Seljuk's Ambitions
- Wed either the Kipchak or Kara Khanid daughter.
- Find an Imam to learn about Islam.
- Build a herd: own 10 Horses.
- Defeat the rival Oghuz Turks.
- Tughril's Ambitions
- Show religious piety: employ 4 Imams.
- Invade the settled lands: destroy 150 buildings.
- Capture Baghdad (Buyid Monument).
- Invading Migration
- If allied with the Kipchaks:
- Pecheneg Migration: defeat the Pecheneg migration.
- Pecheneg Migration: the Kipchaks must survive.
- If allied with the Kara-Khanids:
- Uyghur Migration: defeat the Uyghur migration
- Uyghur Migration: the Kara-Khanids must survive.
- Tribal War 1
- Defeat Kutalmish's Rebellion by killing 30 of his supporters.
- Alp Arslan's Ambitions
- Alp Arslan must survive to complete his reforms.
- Organize the state: Build a Town Center.
- Organize the state: Build a Castle.
- Capture the Byzantine Emperor by destroying his Wonder.
- Tribal War 2
- Defeat Qavurt's Rebellion by killing 50 of his supporters.
- Malik-Shah
- Malik-Shah must survive to preserve the house of Seljuk.
- Persian Ways: research Madrasah at the Castle.
- Persian Ways: Build a Nizamiyyah (University) for Nizam al-Mulk.
- Persian Ways: build the Isfahan Observatory (Wonder) for Omar Khayyam.
- Conquer Persia: Defeat the Ghaznavids.
- Survive the Kara-Khitai attacks.
Hints[]
- The Seljuks are nomads. They receive gold from razing enemy buildings, have access to special nomadic technologies at the Great Tent, and their horses provide population. Because fellow nomads carry their wealth in the saddle, killing nomadic warriors also provides gold.
- Each warlord has ambitions reflecting their historical conquests. These objectives are optional, but achieving them while a warlord is alive will provide rewards and strengthen the Seljuk bloodline (future warlords will be more powerful).
- Raiding is dangerous, especially when you have few men. When outnumbered, it is often better to run away to fight another day.
- Use the mobility of your yurts to train armies of cavalry close to your enemies.
- Do not place yurts too close to obstructions, such as trees, rocks, and water, or your Villagers will not be able to construct them. Only delete your Ox Wagons in open areas.
- In time, the Seljuk Turks will learn how to build cities. You will then be able to train new Villagers, train certain unit types, or research many technologies, including the Castle and Imperial Age upgrades.
- The Seljuks receive a bonus for attacking from elevation. Use the hills of the steppe to your advantage.
- Protect your horses. If they are killed, you will not be able to train warriors for your warbands.
Scouts[]
- Seljuk has gathered warriors near the Aral Sea. His pastures have been taken by Oghuz Turks (Red), rivals of Seljuk's tribe. The Oghuz are nomads who fight as Cavalry Archers, Steppe Lancers, and Tarkans. Some Oghuz inhabit the deserts, where they fight on camels.
- The Kipchaks (Green) graze their horses in the north and northwest, around the northern bank of the Caspian Sea. Cousins of the Turks, they fight much like them: with Steppe Lancers, Light Cavalry, and their own unique mounted archers that bear their name.
- The Kara-Khanids (Yellow) were once nomadic horse lords who conquered Khwarazm, establishing a semi-settled khanate ruling over ancient cities of the east. Their armies reflect this mix of traditions with local Skirmishers, Spearmen, and Camel Archers accompanying a core of Mangudai.
- The Ghaznavids (Cyan) were Turks employed as slave warriors by the Muslim empires. They rebelled against their masters and established an empire over Persia to the south. Now, they raid as far east as India. Their armies employ Afghan mounted skirmishers and Ghulams with heavy cavalry – either Persian cataphracts or elephants.
- The Buyids (Purple) are a Persian dynasty that rules Iraq, holding the Caliph hostage at Baghdad in the southwest. They field armies of infantry, Mamelukes, and Camels.
- The Byzantines (Grey) have built dense fortifications in the west, at a place called Manzikert. Their professional armies of infantry and Cataphracts are supplemented by fearsome Varangians who fight as Berserks and Huskarls.
- Finally, various nomadic tribes may threaten the Seljuk Turks. Dissension from within the tribe may lead to fierce rebellions, while other dangerous nomadic peoples may arrive from the east.
Players[]
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This section is most likely incomplete and may need expansion. You can help by adding to it. |
- Seljuk Dynasty ( Tatars):
Ally → Enemy[]
- Byzantines ( Byzantines): They reside in the westernmost part of the map and are allied until the Tughril part of the scenario. Then, they will change their stance to enemy and challenge the player. They surrender when the Wonder is destroyed. Their forces are Cataphracts, Imperial Legionaries, and (near the Wonder) Huskarls and Berserks.
Neutral → Potential Ally/Enemy[]
- Kipchaks ( Cumans): A possible ally, they have a base in the northernmost point of the map and another one in the western coast of the Caspian. They also have roaming patrols of Kipchaks. When allied to the player, they will grant five Kipchaks.
- Kara-Khanids ( Tatars): They have a base in the easternmost point of the map. When allied to the player, they will grant some resources.
Enemies[]
- Oghuz Turks ( Turks): They are the first enemies that the player faces. They only inhabit small camps.
- Ghaznavids ( Hindustanis ( Tatars before update 125283)): Present in the eastern part of the map, they control Persia and their defeat is required to complete the scenario. They have Tatar architecture.
- Buyids ( Saracens): Present in the western and southern part of the map, the player has to capture their Wonder in Baghdad (southernmost city) to complete a Tughril ambition. They have Mamelukes, Imams, and Eastern Swordsmen.
- Nomadic Tribes → Kutalmish → Nomadic Tribes → Kara-Khitai ( Mongols): They represent the various threats to the player during the scenario. They don't have a base, and their units spawn from different points in the map.
Strategy[]
Seljuk[]
The player begins with Seljuk, a cavalry archer hero, and some Steppe Lancers. A Lumber Camp and some Yurts make up the player's initial base. The player will need to find Horses to increase the player's herd, and thus the player's population cap, up to the current maximum of 100.
The player's first move should be taking their units southwest. The player will find a Villager by a tree that the player can assign to gather wood. A little further and the player will find an Imam. It can heal the player's units and convert others, and has a good sight range compared to the player's cavalry units. Send the Imam back to the shore of the lake just east of the player's base, and follow the shoreline up. The Imam's sight range is enough to find another Imam on an island, with a Transport Ship.
The player can use the Transport Ship to take the Horses to these islands, where they are safe from the player's enemies, while the player's two Imams can help convert enemy units to quickly bolster the player's forces. The player can convert the Khan units at the Oghuz Turks camps for strong Cavalry Archers.
When possible, build and use one of the acquired large Yurts to train a small force to stay by the player's base. 10 or so units, mixed of cavalry and Cavalry Archers, should do fine. From time to time, the Nomadic Tribes will spawn a small force to attack the player, and the player can easily lose all their Villagers.
When told to wed either of the princesses, the Kipchak princess is the better option. Neither side will directly help the player through the scenario, and each has some resources in their base that the player could now safely gather, but the Kipchaks will draw some attention away from a later event, making it easier to deal with.
The Oghuz Turks maintain a number of camps around the desert, usually not too big. As long as the player converts some of their units, the player should quickly build a force that can handle them easily. Their biggest base lies across the river to the player's bases' east. A shallows allows the player to cross a little further down, but be careful while passing the Kara-Khanid base that the player doesn't draw too many of them.
There exists The Great Tent (a Monument with Mongol architecture) near the player's starting location. Capturing it is of prime importance in the long term, as it can train Mangudai and research several unique technologies to help mounted units, viz. Stirrups, Silk Armor, Recurve Bow, Steppe Husbandry, and Sipahi. The player can never research the Elite Mangudai upgrade, as it does not appear anywhere.
It's possible to handle all of these objectives with plenty of time to spare. If this is the case, move west and start attacking the Buyids' towns around the other lake. This will give the player a head start on a later objective. Just be careful of their own Imams.
Tughril[]
Tughril will spawn at the Great Tent, and is a Steppe Lancer-looking hero, but without the Steppe Lancer's extra range.
By the time the player reaches Tughril's reign, the player may have already employed 4 Imams. If not, aside from the two mentioned earlier, there is one at the north of the western lake, near the maps edge. Another is on an island in the western lake the player can find along the shoreline, and another is on the other side of the Buyid city at the south of the lake.
The Tents of the Oghuz Turks count towards the 150 buildings, so the player won't need to do the full 150 in Tughril's reign. This is also why it's a good idea to attack the Buyids along the western lake as Seljuk if time permits, as the player can have the majority of this objective complete by the time Tughril arrives. Between the Oghuz Turks and the Buyids around the lake (that being the city at the south, the two small towns on the east shore, and the larger town on the west), the player should raze 150 buildings easily. Having completed this objective, the player's cavalry units gain +3 attack vs buildings.
Next, move to Baghdad. A good way to do this is by hugging the cliffs. At the Buyid city south of the west lake, there is a cliff ridge. If the player follows that around the right side, the player will find some gold. Go directly south to find a second cliff ridge. Hug this ridge tightly until the player finds stone, then move directly south again until the player finds a road. Follow this road south to reach Baghdad. If the player strays too far west of this route, the player could come close to another Buyid city, this time with Stone Walls, a Castle, and a proper garrison, and could drag them into a fight.
By the time the player is making their way to Baghdad, the player has likely used up the scant resources at the player's initial base, and can feel free to bring all the player's Ox Carts and Villagers, as well as the small force defending them, with the player to the city, a much better place for a base. Leave the Horses on the islands in the lake, however. They will always be safe there, but not in Baghdad.
A few Buyid units wait at a bridge, including Mameluks. Across the bridge lies Baghdad, but the player can skirt to either side. On either side of the city if a small force of Buyids near a Mill, livestock, and Houses. If the player captures Baghdad without killing them, they will start attacking everything here, which is a nuisance. It is a good idea to set the Buyids to neutral for this, to prevent the player's forces razing buildings that would soon be the player's.
There are several Imams in the city. Some might not be reachable, behind a wall of Houses. The player will likely lose some units to conversion, so make sure to counter-convert with the player's own Imams. Once the player captures the Monument, the city will become the player's, the towers included, but their units will keep fighting. They can also capture it back if the player is careless. The player can use this Monument for the same purpose as the Great Tent, but the game does not spawn new heroes from this Monument.
If the player is not quick enough, the player may not have taken the city by the time the Pechenegs invade. They come in force with many Tarkans. Allying with the Kipchaks by marrying their princess will result in them helping the player, but the player needs to keep them alive. They manage to survive fine on lower difficulties, because while they will draw the initial attack, most Pecheneg forces will peel off to pursue the player.
This means that if the player is partway through trying to seize Baghdad, they will catch the player between their army and the city. If the player has not yet taken the city, pull back if the player can't do it in the next few moments, and form a defense at the bridge, using it as a chokepoint. The player may have to ignore some fire from Baghdad's towers, but its nothing the player's Imams can't handle.
Once the invasion is dealt with and Baghdad taken, the player now has access to a Market, a Blacksmith, and a University (useless at this stage). Trade for some stone to repair any damaged towers or walls or rebuild a Gate, and research upgrades. Keep in mind that converted units will not benefit from Blacksmith technologies. For the time being, relax, keep the player's forces here, do not fight the Buyid base immediately southeast, and send out a Light Cavalry to scout out the map.
Tribal War[]
This brief interlude will play out after Tughril passes. Kutalmish makes a bid for the throne with a wave of enemies spawning from the west. If the player holds their forces at Baghdad, they will come to the player, and the player will have the advantage. He attacks with a force of Steppe Lancers and Cavalry Archers, a little over 30 total. Any who survive become the player's, Alp Arslan's reign begins, and the Castle Age is researched.
Alp Arslan[]
Alp Arslan is another cavalry archer hero, and his ambitions are pretty straightforward. The player should have plenty of gold, so the player can trade for fast stone. The player can delete a few Houses in Baghdad to make room to build a Town Center. A good position for the Castle is outside the walls, to one side of the bridge to help the player defend it.
Once the player's Town Center is built, the player returns to standard gameplay (except for population mechanics) - they can construct most buildings (Houses, Docks, Outposts, and Palisade Gates are excluded), build Farms for food (unlocked slightly later), and research the Imperial Age. This is a priority, as the coming fight with the Byzantines will be tough, and Imperial Age technologies will be a great help. Some technologies, such as tower upgrades and Fortified Wall, will not improve Baghdad. After having built a Castle, the player's population cap will increase to 150, and become based on Houses, and the player's Horses will disappear. The player can capture any remaining on the map, but they no longer count for anything.
The player can now build up their forces with whatever unit they like from the standard Tatar technology tree from their buildings. However, there are certain changes. The player can train Cavalry Archers and Steppe Lancers only from Yurts, and Light Cavalry from both Stables and Yurts. This behavior is restored to normal when the player researches the Imperial Age upgrade for these units, after which Yurts become useless. The player does not have access to gunpowder, Timurid Siegecraft, the Man-at-Arms line, the Archer line, and the Cavalier and Pikeman upgrades, but has access to the Genitours (the Elite Genitour upgrade is placed at the Archer line's training button) and Ghulams. The Ghulams are still weak, since the Tatars lack even Chain Mail Armor. The player still has access to Mangudai as stated earlier. It does not appear in normal gameplay, but Camel Riders, Steppe Lancers, and Keshiks also benefit from Stirrups.
There are three routes to the Byzantine Emperor. The most challenging is to break down the walls just north of Baghdad and fight the way up. The player will find 8 Elite Kipchaks waiting here, but need to fight through almost all of the Emperor's forces. The second method is to find the gap in the cliffs along the western side of the western lake. There is another, much smaller lake with a Transport Ship. The player will only have to fight a small force before reaching the Emperor's base.
The third, and arguably best, entrance is through the cliffs just above the Emperor's base, through a Kipchak camp. The player will have to fight two Bears at the entrance, but come out right at the Emperor's base and can fight his units while the player's are fresh. It is a good idea to send a Villager up to build a Siege Workshop in the Kipchak base, if they are friendly, so the player can build some rams closer to the fight. This method is the easiest, and if the player clears the side they approach from of units, and is careful about going too far into the base, the player can get three Siege Rams up to the Fortified Wall the the Wonder rests right against and damage it severely with the ram's splash damage before the wall even breaks. Once the Wonder is down, the Byzantines are defeated. The player can run down and collect the Elite Kipchaks mentioned earlier, and if the player has a ram or two still, bust through the wall for a speeder route to Baghdad.
None of these ambitions are difficult, but the player will want to try to be quick, as Alp Arslan's reign ends suddenly.
Tribal War[]
Another rebellion, just like the first, but larger, comes for the player. Get back to Baghdad and garrison the Cavalry Archers in the Castle, holding the player's cavalry back across the bridge. Qavurt's rebellion shouldn't be much issue, but due to buggy pathfinding, its possible some of his units with stop approaching and the player will need to march out to them.
Malik-Shah[]
Malik-Shah is a simple heavy cavalry unit, but if all leaders' ambitions have been met till now, a powerful one. Some of Malik-Shah's ambitions are easily completed. For example, after researching Madrasah at the Castle, the player must build a University, but there is already one in Baghdad, so if its still standing, the player completes this objective instantly.
After the first two Persian Ways ambitions, the player can build the Wonder in or near Baghdad. This is fairly straightforward, though the player might just need to collect or trade for stone.
The Ghaznavids have three walled cities, each with a Castle, and one large town with a Town Center. They use Savars, Ghulams, Genitours, and War Elephants, with a few Imams in their cities.
If the player marched out to meet the end of Qavurt's rebellion, and the force is still strong, the player can march them down to the unwalled town and take it down easily. Keep a few Imams in this army, as they will be invaluable. Make sure to send some Siege Rams up to assist with the walled cities while the army razes the town.
The sieges of the walled cities themselves are straightforward. Draw out the garrison, convert some of their better units (like War Elephants or Savar), and focus the player's Siege Rams on Castles first. They do not have Murder Holes. Be careful of their Imams, and the player can use the Villagers that become the player's to repair the rams as the player goes. If the player is very careful, and protects most or all of the six Imams, the player can conquer a whole with by converting their best units and letting them fight for the player as long as the player brings down the Castle first.
Make sure to keep the Castle fully garrisoned, as the player will be continuously attacked by the Kara-Khitai while campaigning against the Ghaznavids. Once all four of the Ghaznavid cities are razed, the player wins the scenario.
Tips for hard[]
Try to wait for the Pecheneg invasion in the southwestern Kipchak base, which is not shown. Also, only destroy the Byzantine Wonder when the player is ready to destroy the remaining enemy and has weakened them enough. Until then, build Castles and station units near the Nomadic Tribes' spawning point.
Outro[]
The entire world seemed to fear the House of Seljuk. Once simple nomads, the Seljuk Turks now ruled as lords of a vast empire stretching from Anatolia to the frontiers of India.
On Malik-Shah's sudden death, however – poisoned on the orders of a jealous Caliph – the great empire descended into turmoil.
Palace intrigues and infighting tore the empire apart, leaving it open to invasion by other peoples. First came the Europeans: Crusaders pledging their lives to take Jerusalem and battering their armies against the Seljuk cities.
Then came the nomads of the north and east, riding and pillaging through Persia, much as the grandfathers of the Seljuk Turks had once done themselves.
Though the proud bloodline of those Seljuk founders would die, their people would remain.
The Turks would rise again.
Trivia[]
- This map is a remaster of the custom scenario called "Seljuk - Rise of an Empire", present in the mod center.
- Despite the Ghaznavids being a Persianized sultanate based on Persia proper and north-western India, the Ghaznavid player is initially represented by Tatars instead of Hindustanis or Persians. However, the player's cities are defended by units found from both Persians and Hindustanis (Savars, War Elephants, and Ghulams). In update 125283, their civilization is changed to Hindustanis.
- The Buyids being represented by Saracens is also unusual, given that they were a Daylamite Iranian dynasty who attempted to revive Sassanid traditions.
- As per the scenario's designer, Filthydelphia, the playable civilization is Tatars instead of the more accurate Turks for the following reasons:
- The gunpowder bonuses of the Turks will be unused in this scenario, as it predates the birth of gunpowder.
- The Turks focus more on the Ottoman era by their design, while the Tatars are not entirely inaccurate to represent the Seljuks either.
- The scenario features fewer units, and as such, taking good engagements is important. The Tatar bonus of even more damage from hills would be useful here.
- The Byzantine battle represents the one at Manzikert, also covered in its own Historical Battle.
- The exchange between Alp Arslan and Emperor Romanos after destroying the Byzantine Wonder is based on a real event. After capturing the Byzantine emperor, Alp Arslan asked him what he would do if he were in Alp Arslan's position and he had taken the enemy commander prisoner. Romanos bluntly replied that he would kill Alp Arslan had he captured him. Impressed by Romanos' honesty, Alp Arslan spared his life, sending him back to Constantinople with a Turkish escort bearing a banner that read "There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is his prophet."
- Saladin is present near the southern Buyid Castle.
- When warning about the appearance of the Kara-Kitai, the player is told to be cautious with them because "They are without honor". This is a quote from the Genghis Khan campaign.
- In addition, the Seljuks were defeated by Kara-Kitais in the Battle of Qatwan half a century after this scenario.
- Similarly to some other scenarios where units spawn at the map's edge (such as The Right Partner) it is possible to prevent the Pecheneg invasion entirely by walling off the northwestern side of the map between the ruined monastery and the southern cliff edge in order to block all of the Pecheneg spawning points. If this is done, both of the ally voice lines pertaining to the Pecheneg invasion will play in immediate sequence, and the scenario will continue as if the player had defeated the Pechenegs legitimately. This technique cannot fully prevent northeastern invasions such as the two rebellions and Kara-Khitai invasion waves, however, as that map edge has two large unbuildable patches that some units always spawn on.
- Light Cavalry can be trained at both Yurts and Stables, though units can only be trained at one building except when they have duplicates (like there exist two Huskarls, two Spearmen etc. in the database).
- Filthydelphia revealed that he enabled Light Cavalry at an earlier stage and moved it to Yurt, and the Stable Light Cavalry is probably the upgraded Scout Cavalry. This is the reason why Cavalry Archers and Steppe Lancers are not available at the Archery Range and Stable respectively, since they do not have a Feudal Age counterpart.
- Historically, the Kara-Khitai (1124-1218) had not yet expanded westwards during the lifetime of Malik-Shah (1055-1092).
Gallery[]
